This film is as deliriously entertaining as it is unabashedly absurd,
and features the longest airplane take-off sequence in history.
A team of highly skilled drivers is stealing components to create some sort
of ridiculous doomsday device, and Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) asks Dominic (Vin Diesel)
to come out of retirement and assemble his team to help take down this
international menace. And why would he do something like that? Because
apparently his deceased ex-girlfriend Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) is a member
of the gang. So he pulls the team back together in exchange for full pardons,
to which Hobbs reluctantly agrees. What happens afterwards is inconsequential,
since it's just a non-stop onslaught of testosterone fueled violence and vehicular
mayhem. Which isn't a bad thing.

What I appreciated most about the film was its kinetic intensity and sense
of earnestness. In a way, it reminded me a lot of Hong Kong cinema back in the
late 80's and early 90s. This is pure action for action's sake moviemaking, and the
filmmakers take their work extremely seriously. The car scenes are indeed fast
and furious, and thrilling to watch. The fight scenes are well choreographed and
hard hitting, but poor camera work and choppy editing spoils the fun. The return
of Michelle Rodriguez is delightful, and Gina Carano is a breath of fresh air.
Quite honestly, the promise of seeing the two of them beat each other up was the
main reason I went to see the film. While I've read claims that their tussle in
the subway is one of the best girl fights in cinematic history, I have to
disagree. But regardless, it is quite good and I was very pleased with the result.
Dwayne Johnson is charming as always,
and the rest of the cast works well and comes together like a well oiled machine.
As I mentioned before, Rodriguez and Carano are wonderful, but it's Gal Gadot
and Elsa Pataky who really caught my attention. Wowzers. Ms. Gadot is simply
mesmerizing, but dramatic foreshadowing leads to the film's biggest disappointment.
It's also disappointing that the trailer for the film spoils every single surprise
that it has to offer. I would have been much more impressed going into it blind.

As the first "Fast & Furious" movie I've seen, I can't compare it to
previous entries, but it feels like they pulled in elements from the entire series
in an attempt to create continuity and closure. Luke Evans makes a good and worthy villain,
and while the film wraps things up nice and tidy, an out-of-nowhere epilogue is already
setting things in motion for part 7. Now I just have to go back and watch the other
five films to see what I've been missing.